Cultural Continuity in EFL Teaching in International Higher Education: From a Discourse Perspective of Chinese Learners

Abstract

This paper presents an ethnographic study of the application of cultural continuity in English as Foreign Language (EFL) teaching in International College, GDUFS China. Based on Holliday's (2001) findings and Brown's (2000) twelve "manifestos" together with interviews of the Chinese learners, the authors investigate the discoursal elements used by both native EFL teachers (NEFLTs) and Local Chinese EFL teachers (LEFLTs) in international programs from a discourse perspective of Chinese university learners. They find that the practice of cultural continuity in classrooms by LEFLTs and NEFLTs demonstrates different preferences and patterns which form an essential feature of cooperative teaching for international higher education. NEFLTs' adaptation to local learning environment and LEFLTs' application of foreign teaching modes may present an integrated mode which displays both cultural continuity and discontinuity of English and local learning culture at the same time.